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Watts Contemporary Gallery’s first sculpture exhibition, curated by Programme Manager Gwen Hughes, forms part of our Summer of Sculpture.
It presents the work of eight artists, working in a wide range of materials. Author Anthony Horowitz explains the impact that the work by artist Roger Hardy has had on him.
“There is an old -fashioned, even a pagan feel to the figures. They could have been carved in the Middle Ages by long lost ancestors or pilgrims. They stand singly or in pairs but even when they are together they somehow seem alone. Sometimes they glance at one another like ancient Romans - senators perhaps - but more often they gaze ahead, as if contemplating an uncertain future. It is impossible to say if they are male or female, adult or child although one can make assumptions from their proportions, the way they relate to one another. Part of the drama of the work is that nothing is certain. We, as viewers, use our imagination to decide what we see, just as we might find faces or figures in the clouds.” - -Anthony HorowitzAuthor
“There is an old -fashioned, even a pagan feel to the figures. They could have been carved in the Middle Ages by long lost ancestors or pilgrims. They stand singly or in pairs but even when they are together they somehow seem alone. Sometimes they glance at one another like ancient Romans - senators perhaps - but more often they gaze ahead, as if contemplating an uncertain future. It is impossible to say if they are male or female, adult or child although one can make assumptions from their proportions, the way they relate to one another. Part of the drama of the work is that nothing is certain. We, as viewers, use our imagination to decide what we see, just as we might find faces or figures in the clouds.”
- -Anthony HorowitzAuthor
Roger Hardy, Couple, wood with plaster base
Roger’s figurative burnt wood sculptures are made using found elements from local boatyards, high tides and estuary-worn wood from the river Alde in Suffolk, near his home. He uses the natural processes in the degradation of his materials to simplify the essence of the human form.
The sculptures have a timeless quality and look as if they could have been carved long ago.